Review: True Face by Siobhan Curham

We are living in the age of the image – the perfect image. From the constant bombardment of air-brushed photos, to the dubious lifestyle choices promoted by celebrities and the obsession with social media, young women are under pressure as never before to project a persona of perfection. And this is having a catastrophic effect, with girls as young as seven developing eating disorders and female self-loathing reaching epidemic proportions.

True Face shows you how to resist the pressure from the ‘perfection police’ and take off the masks you wear to proudly reveal your true self to the world. In chapters dealing with body image, bullying, social media, love, sex and more, Siobhan Curham encourages young women and girls to be honest, dream big, and create lives that are happy and fulfilling. Keep Calm and Carry On is replaced by a new mantra: Forget the Fake and Keep it Real. This book is a breath of fresh air. Perfect for ages 13+ – and for the Girls fan in her 20s/30s too!

REVIEW BY IMOGEN – YEAR 11

True Face by Siobham Curham is an insightful, confidence boosting non-fiction book. Siobham, who is a writer and life-coach has a very warm, honest tone recalling many of her own and some of her friends and clients real life experiences. True Face encourages the reader to be true to themselves in terms of image, attitude and dreams. Discouraging us from giving in to pressure from the media but instead embracing the people we really are and revitalising our inner love for ourselves.

Siobham covers a broad range of topics ensuring that there is something relevant for all readers. The book is split into small chapters allowing the reader to cover small sections at a time.

The book includes many insightful famous quotes from celebrities but also from Siobham herself. True Face is an empowering book that we can all gain something from and even if you are the sort of person that believes they are true to themselves, Siobham may surprise you, as she proves that at some stage we are all guilty of following the crowd.

Siobham is a very likeable author who writes with a combination of humour and sincerity, the book feels personal as she confines her own faults in you, the reader, allowing you to confess your own. She writes with an air of optimism, looking at bad events as experience for the future and seems to rejuvenate our inner love of life.

My favourite part of the book was when Siobham recalls a very moving story of illness and how that knowing that life can be taken away so easily made her appreciate how precious life is. I feel this really changed my perspective of life as Siobham discussed how frequently amidst the pressure placed on society to behave and look perfect we becoming transfixed on minute details losing sight of the broader picture.

True Face is all about self-belief and ensuring that you fulfil your dreams and aspirations without letting other people’s view, media portrayals and your ‘inner voice of doom’ get in the way. Siobham reassures the reader that they are not alone with feelings of anxiety, self-doubt and being over critical. Siobham encourages the reader to write a ‘journal’ about your feelings and doing alternative exercises to help you realise your true self. Although these exercises may not be applicable for all readers it is nice to read about her personal experiences and some of her client’s experiences as they are very relatable and reassuring.

From looking at the front page the book looks as if it is primarily aimed at teenage girls, although, there are many topics and advice that are relevant to women of all ages. I would thoroughly recommend reading this book, giving it a 4/5 overall as it has given me a fresher more positive outlook on life and it has a very clear heartwarming message to live life to the full as ‘you’, and be the best ‘you’ you can be.